Why do so few Linux programs reach version 1.x?

[B0rsuk]

...because Linux developers are often more honest/modest, and use version numbers to indicate current state of the program.

format: 1.2.3

1 is for major changes
2 is for significant changes
3 is for little changes and bugfixes

There are no upper limits for these 'digits', so, for example, you can see linux kernel version 2.6.17 etc. Imagine how big this number would have to be if they were forbidden to use dots. (or even just 1 dot).


In contrast, closed source/commercial developers are often tempted to artificially increase version number to make their program appear more mature, and get more profit from sales (ads, or whatever). Look at Winamp:

There was never, ever winamp4. To my disgust, they oficially said that new version of their program was too great to call it 'winamp4'. Instead, they jumped from winamp3 to winamp5. Talk about narcism...

[Brunellus]

...because Linux developers are often more honest/modest, and use version numbers to indicate current state of the program.

format: 1.2.3

1 is for major changes
2 is for significant changes
3 is for little changes and bugfixes

There are no upper limits for these 'digits', so, for example, you can see linux kernel version 2.6.17 etc. Imagine how big this number would have to be if they were forbidden to use dots. (or even just 1 dot).


In contrast, closed source/commercial developers are often tempted to artificially increase version number to make their program appear more mature, and get more profit from sales (ads, or whatever). Look at Winamp:

There was never, ever winamp4. To my disgust, they oficially said that new version of their program was too great to call it 'winamp4'. Instead, they jumped from winamp3 to winamp5. Talk about narcism...

Free software maintainers aren't immune. There was a major "version inflation" in slackware--it jumped from 7 to 10, I think, without any intervening steps.

With Winamp, they did a very "linux" think when they went from the 2.x tree to the 3.x tree--those two versions were very different from each other.

[Henry Rayker]

I didn't like the Winamp jump from 3 to 5 either, but it made sense...Winamp 5 was really like Winamp 2 + Winamp 3...

[thomashauk]

I also remeber slackware skipping a few numbers so it isn't just popritery software that does this.

Basically my advice is to look for a high point or point-point release because that generally means more bug fixes have been made. A major version number change means more features and hence more bugs.

A new major number also usually means a complete rewrite... Basically a whole new program...

[ZuLuuuuuu]

As not a real programmer but a forum script programmer, I will tell you why my forum script have not reached version 1.0 for about 2 years

The number 1.0 is very special looking. It sounds like the first real release and I want the forum script to be perfect on exactly that version. I know it can't be but at least as close to the perfect as possible. I have specified the features that I want in my forum script at the end and I haven't implemented all of them yet. I am not thinking of naming the version 1.0 until I have the script as I want it to be, with the features I specified. Also I want it to be perfectly stable on exactly that version

This is the excuse of mine for not releasing the version 1.0 yet

[BWF89]

Linux software tends to not reach version 1.0 because open source developers are a lot more paranoid about their software being labled as stable when it hits 1.0 than proprietary developers.

I use tons of programs that haven't reached 1.0 but their just as stable as their proprietary counterparts that are labled AWESOME SOFTWARE 5.0!!!oneone111

[engla]

Well, not many people buy Software version 5.1 if you already have version 5.0. The large version are the buy-versions, the small ones are upgrades and fixes.. Now that's very general and I know thousands of exceptions, but you catch the drift; there is a bump everytime you re-roll the product and try to sell it again.

Free Software is often not marketed and sold in the same way, and the more technical user-base doesn't listen to major versions as they do specific functions and fixes. FOSS "sells itself" based on absolute merit.